Passionate

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpqngaE1fRs[/embedyt]I become so frustrated listening to people after a major catastrophe telling some that people are more important thanthe pets who were abandoned during a hurricane or a flood. All lives are precious folks. No matter if you have 2 legs or four.Not everyone has the same feelings about this. I want to help people and pets. I have a passion for all living creatures. Does that make me feel like a jerk? Not a chance. Just makes me wonder what type of person would criticize anyone for helping in any way possible. We all have our own strengths that have guided us through our journeys, but that doesn't make one person better than another.We find our passions along the way. No one should be criticized for how they are helping another living being. It is better to help than to do nothing at all. My passion has always been pets as far back as I can remember. As I grew older, I developed a love for helping people. That is why I went thru clinical health programs. Did I make a huge difference in those lives that were in my path on my journey? Maybe. But even working in this field never replaced the love that I have for animals. Most of us who use social media or watch the news, have watched stories of how Floridians came together to help stranded manatees that had washed up in the mud when the surf water disappeared during the low tides caused by Hurricane IrmaOr how folks in Texas were cruising around in canoes scooping up abandoned pets and people who could not get out of Hurricane Harvey's path in time. How about the people who came in from out of state to help ranchers move their horses and cattle to higher ground? When I had mentioned that I had donated money to an animal rescue and local shelters in Texas and in Florida in lieu of the Red Cross, I was criticized. I mean why would someone criticize for that? Why would anyone care who I donated to? I mean I was asked how I had helped. So I answered and was criticized. I guess I can give blood when they take me off of their hot list for living overseas for over half my life. The Red Cross is an okay organization, but researching them over the last few years they are just not one that I want to donate to anymore. Especially when you read that they are tax exempt, yet pay salaries that are taxable....it just gets a bit muddy from there. http://www.redcross.org/about-us/who-we-are/history/federal-charterIt seems to me that the Red Cross was being critical of the people who were trying to help their neighbors BEFORE their organization arrived in the flood zones of Texas and Louisiana by bringing meals and supplies to those who had lost their homes or who had no power. They swooped in after the storm and told folks WHO WERE HELPING THEIR NEIGHBORS, to go home and had the "we'll take over from here" attitude. Well!! WHERE WERE THEY WHEN THESE FOLKS NEEDED FRESH WATER AND FOOD DURING THE STORM? Of course this is not a first hand account. I was not there. But I do know folks who were in those areas who witnessed this for themselves, and they have nothing to gain by exaggerating what they saw. I also noticed that living in a country that has been so divided by politics, bigotry, and race wars, that people came together to help each other and animals. If there is ever a time when Americans unite, it is during a time of crisis. We have all seen it time and time again after 9/11 and the various catastrophes in recent memory. This is the part that I love when I think of the U.S. We really pull out all the stops when our neighbors are in need. And if we see an abandoned pet in the midst of it all, well, we will help them too. Being passionate about anything, is not something you learn in a textbook. Being passionate comes from the deepest parts of our hearts and souls. Seeing the photos of people stranded and pets abandoned is heart wrenching and can make even the most solid people wince. It's what we do about it when we see those images that make us all decent human beings.